June 16th, 2010

Falkirk Guitar Heroes

bmclaren

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: cfe, concert, Falkirk, Guitar Hero, maddiston, shieldhill, whitecross
 : Categories Added Value, Consolarium, Falkirk, Games we have, Parents, animation, cross-curricular, game based learning

I had a most enjoyable and very interesting day touring 4 schools in Falkirk who are all undertaking a transition project with Guitar Hero. The teacher leading this within Falkirk, Stacey Collier-West, had planned a full timetable and we set off from Maddiston Primary where she is based and travelled to see Avonbridge Primary, Whitecross Primary and Shieldhill Primary as well as stopping off back at Maddiston to see the pupils working on this topic.

The first thing that was absolutely apparent from all the schools I visited was the engagement shown from all teachers and pupils involved, but what I found more interesting was the range of approaches across the schools but all within the same context. Every teacher involved had been part of the inital planning and were in regular contact with each other but each one was very firmly focussed on what the children in their schools needed. Seeing this so clearly reinforced with me the fact that this fact should remain at the forefront of the mind of any school undertaking a GBL topic.

Have a look and a listen to some of the work we saw on our quick journey around Falkirk starting with writing in Whitecross Primary. Click on Mr Horne below to hear him chat about writing in his class.

mr horne whitecross

In the video clip below we can see how the classes are building towards their concert. We can see them making stop frame animations with a simple digital camera and windows moviemaker software, which is a free part of most, if not all, winows pc s. I love seeing everyday things used in an imaginative way like this, we then have a chat with a couple of groups of children who talk about what kinds of learning they are undertaking in order to get themselves ready for the show including writing lyrics, choreography and animation. Next we meet another band getting their moves ready for the concert and chatting about how they have undertaken the work and finally we meet two of the teachers who have been running the theme in their class and hear them discuss the impact on the children.

As mentioned previously, all the schools were working toward a final showcase event where they would perform the songs they had written, show their choreographed moves and have their animations playing in the background. As you could probably see from the slideshow above all the bands had also designed their own tshirts which they then sold and each school made a cd of the tracks they had produce and offered them for sale at the concert also. Brian Clark, Ollie Bray and myself got ourselves invited to the final concert and we had a wonderful time watching as all the children performed in front of their peers, parents and friends. Every child successful, confident, responsible and effective. Watch highlights of the show below.

May 27th, 2010

EyePet as CfE

bmclaren

Comments: 2 Comments » Tags: Tags: andrea reid, cathkin, cfe, eyepet, hmie, liz mercer, nursery, South Lanarkshire
 : Categories Added Value, Consolarium, Consolarium visits, Games we have, Literacy, Multi-player games, Numeracy, Parents, South Lanarkshire, cross-curricular, game based learning, rich tasks

For a number of months I have been doing some work in and around South Lanarkshire authority, first of all with Aubrey Taylor from the Advisory Service running staff development and latterly with the support of Andrea Reid QIO in a number of primary and nursery schools. It’s really great seeing so many forward thinking folks in education in such close proximity to each other. A good number of schools are running their own GBL topics with and really staring to get great results from their work.

Cathkin Community Nursery

In particular I enjoyed visiting Cathkin Community Nursery which , with the support of Andrea Reid, has been undertaking a topic on pets which has included input from a special pet called “Eyepet” which comes as software on the PS3. Check the video below for a wee flavour of the kinds of things he can do..

The steps shown in the video are only a small part of how the nursery went about planning and implementing a project with Eyepet, but a case study exemplification will be produced and shared over the next couple of months.

I had never seen a GBL topic wholly undertaken in the nursery setting so I was intrigued to find out how they had gone about it. Liz Mercer the Head of Nursery was delighted with the way the project worked and how well it involved the children and their families.

“We are thoroughly enjoying our eyepets. They are part of our family now and the children have taken to them so well. Each group had adopted an eyepet, where they nurture and care for him/her. Some children have also created their own eyepet using a variety of materials. They are fab and on display in the room where eyepet lives and breathes.”

Open Doors Event

Cathkin Community Nursery then took the expertise they had gained from running Eyepet as part of their project and held an open doors event where the Early Years workers shared their experience of using Eyepet and how it tied to the curriculum with colleagues from South Lanarkshire. There were also a number of other brilliant presentations on involving parents and involving children in the planning process and digital learning books. The evaluations from this event were wholly positive and it was great to see CPD opportunities like this being provided by practitioners for practitioners. Liz and the team are real advocates of CfE, and you can see from the slideshow below how that looks in practice when undertaking the Eyepet project.

HMIE

You may also be interested in reading the thoughts of HMIE about this nursery. Their report was published today and all areas of their work were graded as Excellent and HMIE thought their work with Eyepet was wonderful.

“Staff provide a very well-balanced curriculum firmly based on play, active learning and enjoyment. High quality staff interaction, a stimulating environment and very well planned use of resources support children’s progress most effectively”

We currently have a number of Eyepets out on loan across Scotland at the moment, some as transition projects and some as literacy focus work and the pictures below are of some of the reactions of children watching their Eyepet hatch and some of the work that has come out of looking after their Eyepet.

Home School Partnership

As a follow on to that I attended a couple of parent workshops run by Colin Venters from South Lanarkshire’s Home School Partnership, encouraging parents to see the potential of their child’s use of gaming consoles as a positive chance for meaningful interaction between themselves and their child. Hear below what Colin and some of the parents who visited had to say about these sessions.

April 26th, 2010

Mario Kart Leaderboards

bmclaren

Comments: 1 Comment Tags:  : Categories Added Value, Consolarium, Games we have, Multi-player games, Nintendo, SLF10, cross-curricular, game based learning

Dum! dumdumdum! dumdum!

dumdumdumdum!

<cue Murray Walker voice>

………….and there goes Mario!

………………and there goes Luigi!

F1 season is well underway and all over Scotland schools are taking up the SLF10 Mario Challenge.

Would you like to race head to head, in front of a live audience and win the title of

SLF10 MarioKarter Champion ?

This year at SLF10 there will be a Mario Kart Grand Prix for Primary and Secondary pupils. In order to qualify you must be in the top 4 verified time trial times.

Teachers must submit a photo of a pupil’s verified Time Trial time. These times will be logged on a leader board held on the Consolarium Glow Group and blog so you can track your position against the whole of Scotland.

At the moment these leaderboards are empty (apart from my rubbish time!) - submit your time now!

The four fastest primary pupils and four fastest secondary pupils will be invited, with school representatives, to compete in a live race final at SLF10. In order to submit a qualifying time you must run your time trial according to the criteria below.

A picture of the complete time trial showing character, kart and time should be forwarded to[email protected]

The four fastest pupils from each sector will then race head to head in the

50cc Mushroom Cup Grand Prix

in front of a live audience at SLF10.

The driver with the most amount of points at the end of the Grand Prix will be the winner and crowned Mario Kart Champion SLF10 and win a Wii and copy of Mario Kart for their school.

Check out the glow group where schools involved will be posting plans, pictures and joining discussions about the game and the work they are undertaking within their class using Mario Kart as a contextual hub or as a subject specific theme.

The closing date for verified Time Trial times is September 3^rd 2010. Qualifiers will be contacted after this date

February 21st, 2010

SLF10 MarioKart Challenge

bmclaren

Comments: none Tags: Tags: cross-curricular, Mario Kart, mathematics, SLF10
 : Categories Added Value, Consolarium, Games we have, Glow, Multi-player games, SLF10, cross-curricular, game based learning

Mario Kart Competition @ SLF10

Calling all Jenson Button and Lewis Hamiltons of the future.

Would you like to race head to head, in front of a live audience and win the title of

SLF10 MarioKarter Champion ?

This year at SLF10 there will be a Mario Kart Grand Prix for Primary and Secondary pupils. In order to qualify you must be in the top 4 verified time trial times.

Teachers must submit a photo of a pupil’s verified Time Trial time. These times will be logged on a leader board held on the Consolarium Glow Group and blog so you can track your position against the whole of Scotland. The four fastest primary pupils and four fastest secondary pupils will be invited, with school representatives, to compete in a live race final at SLF10. In order to submit a qualifying time you must run your time trial according to the criteria below.

A picture of the complete time trial showing character, kart and time should be forwarded to [email protected]

The four fastest pupils from each sector will then race head to head in the

50cc Mushroom Cup Grand Prix

in front of a live audience at SLF10.

The driver with the most amount of points at the end of the Grand Prix will be the winner and crowned Mario Kart Champion SLF10 and win a Wii and copy of Mario Kart for their school.

The closing date for verified Time Trial times is September 3^rd 2010. Qualifiers will be contacted after this date.

Have you thought about using MarioKart in your class as a contextual hub or topic? Check out the Consolarium Glow Group for ideas on how you might do this. You might also want to think about how you might use MarioKart in subject specific lessons also. Share your thoughts on the Discussion Board at the Wii, Mario Kart section of the Consolarium Glow Group.

We also have a small number of MarioKart kits (console, software and controllers) available on loan until SLF10. If you are interested in receiving one on loan send us a summary of how you would use it and what you feel the impact would be upon your pupils. Our team will get together and examine all bids and decide upon the lucky applicants. Please send bids to [email protected] and ensure all bids are with us by Monday March 8th.

February 2nd, 2010

Wild Earth African (and Alloa and Aberdeen) Safari

bmclaren

Comments: 1 Comment Tags: Tags: African, Park, Tullos, Wii, Wild Earth African Safari
 : Categories Aberdeen, Added Value, Clackmannanshire, Games we have, Literacy, Numeracy, cross-curricular, game based learning

It’s always a treat to visit classes where the imagination and creativity of teachers and pupils has driven engaging and effective learning and teaching. But shh! What’s that noise? Can anyone else hear the drums?

Can you hear the drums?

I think we had better take a look around, follow me as we climb this hill for a look around. Wow! what a panorama - look at all the animals..

Every child I spoke to was enthused and motivated by their topic, as was every teacher. You want creative and imaginative writing? It’s there, from a range of different characters and viewpoints. Functional writing? How many reports, factsheets, biographies would you like? Listening and talking? Interviews, presentations with movies, audio, photographs….

In mathematics the children were learning about measurement in a range of scales (15o kg of elephant poo anyone?) How tall is a giraffe? If an elephant was 2d what would its area be ? Can we draw it to scale in the playground? If we know that can we work out the volume of an elephant? So many mathematical questions. How far away is the Safari we are going on? How will we get there, will we fly and how much will that cost? and on and on and on; learning in context

I saw a variety of media and tribal art where the visiting specialists were involved in the planning and delivery, music teachers teaching tribal drumming and African chants, Masai warrior dances by children in Masai robes and class made jewellery. I heard abou the significance of the jewellery in the different cultures and at every step the use of a range of technology enhanced and extended the learning going on.

And don’t even get me started on co-operation and collaboration as teams completed assignments together and presented their findings, reports and thoughts together. The desire of the pupils to show their work and explain it’s significance and what they had learned was excellent, not just to me but to other classes and their parents and carers. I saw children explaining food webs to their visitors, anything you wanted to know about a particular animal? Just ask the resident experts…..

December 15th, 2009

Learning is a Joy.

bmclaren

Comments: none Tags: Tags: Consolarium, games based learning, heppell, Nintendogs, Wild Earth African Safari
 : Categories Aberdeen, Consolarium, Consolarium visits, Games we have, Highland, Literacy, Nintendo, game based learning, writing

Over the last wee while I have been visiting schools to see the impact of some ongoing projects. I visited Tullos Primary in Aberdeen where a class of primary 6 children have been undertaking a Wild Earth African Safari. I popped in to see a primary 3 class in Dingwall Primary working on a Nintendogs project and then off to Alvie Primary in Kincraig near Aviemore where a composite p 3/4/5 were taking on their own African Safari.

In Tullos Primary the teacher undertaking the project spoke about her experience at an InService day and the rest of the staff were so impressed by the potential that they will be purchasing gaming technology of their own so games based learning can be extended throughout the school.

In Dingwall primary the children have been using their Nintendogs to enhance and improve literacy. Both management and class teacher have been amazed by the impact and how the desire to write and reach an audience outside the school, through their blog, has moved the learning of all the class forward.

From Alvie Primary the teacher has tied the whole experience together as an enterprise Activity and will showcase the work for parents in a Safari afternoon. She also reckons that when the wii is returned to the Consolarium it will have a whole class of children attached to it who will not let it go!

In all classes I was met with enthusiasm and engagement and a joy about learning. In the Guardian newspaper last week Professor Stephen Heppell comments that ,

“Play is something that ICT has been bringing into learning from the very beginning. ICT in learning holds the potential to bring back playfulness and engagement…”

Guardian, Tuesday 8th December, Education Supplement

The Games based learning approach taps straight into this potential and, for those of us working in the Consolarium, we are lucky enough to see practical examples of the impact of this everywhere we go. Share the joy! If you and your class or school are using games based learning then please let us know and share your good practice.

December 8th, 2009

Living on an Island.

bmclaren

Comments: 3 Comments » Tags: Tags: Burravoe, Consolarium, games based learning, Glow, Shetland, Wii, Wild Earth African Safari
 : Categories Added Value, Consolarium visits, Games we have, Glow, Literacy, Nintendo, game based learning, writing

“No man is an island”

John Donne espoused that we are all connected and I think that we are all the better for it. Having connections whether familial, social or professional enriches all that we do and extends, supports and challenges us.

I have been thinking recently about the way my learning has changed now that I am no longer in a school setting and how much I relied on the people in my school staff to bounce ideas off, to rant to, to use the experience of and to laugh with. Now that I no longer have a physical staffroom to use I have found myself using the skills and knowledge of a different set of people in a very different way. I have a virtual staffroom, open 24hrs a day containing a set of people from all over the world, with a huge array of skills and experience which I can tap into, and who generously share their learning. I use Twitter. There, I’ve said it and it doesn’t make me a bad person!

One of the first people I was in contact with in my very early days of twitter was Caroline Breyley, the headteacher of Burravoe Primary School on the Island of Yell, the second largest of the Shetland Isles.

She and her class were considering the use of Wild Earth: African Safari for the Wii and wondered if it would be a worthwhile context for learning. Through the work they have shared with me it is clear that they have been involved in a very engaging, motivating and successful piece of learning. I had the great privilege of meeting the children online at the tail end of last week. We set up a Glowmeet and through the use of this technology children over 400 miles away, including at least one flight and a ferry, could share the fantastic work they had done with me in real time and get immediate feedback. Go and visit the Burravoe Primary School blog, read about life in their school and read the “Brilliant Story” by Charlotte in p3.

Through the use of technology available to those in Scottish Education our children have access to an immediate national audience for their work, Glow groups, glow meet, CANVAS and a host of blogs allow our children the opportunity to share their work and receive feedback . We should all be sharing our practice and seeking feedback on the work we do and providing constructive feedback on the work of others. We cannot afford to be islands.

September 22nd, 2009

Three Weeks in!

bmclaren

Comments: 1 Comment Tags: Tags: Consolarium, games based learning, Sony, Wii
 : Categories Consolarium, Games we have, Multi-player games, Nintendo

New to the post!

A quick introduction; I am Brian McLaren and I am the new Consolarium Development Officer. Three weeks into the job and my head is beginning to stop spinning. I am amazed by the energy and application of everyone I have met so far and I am really looking forward to supporting and sharing the good practice going on in schools.

I am currently looking into the potential of a number of games for classroom use including “Little Big Planet” for PS3, “Wild Earth African Safari” and “SimAnimals” for Wii.

If you have any experience of using these games in your class or are keen to do so please feel free to contact me. I am also keen to hear of your experiences using Games Based Learning in your class and would love to see some pics of your success.

My email is [email protected]

September 27th, 2007

New title at the Consolarium: Boogie

Derek Robertson

Comments: 8 Comments » Tags:  : Categories Games we have, Nintendo, exertainment

At the Consolarium we have just bought a copy of Boogie for the Nintendo Wii. We’re really interested in exploring this game due to the active engagement that is required form the player. Similar to Singstar and even some dance mat applications this game looks as though it will be great fun to play but it looks as though there are possibilities of retrofitiing this across a range of educational contexts.

Have a quick look:

If you are interested in finding out more about this or feel that this game could make a positive impact on learning in your setting then please let us know.